I recently had an interview at Best Buy. In the first minute of the interview, he asked me what my life goals were. I responded by telling him that I intend to join the Marines. He promptly told me to leave, saying that he doesnt hire anyone considering the military. My recruiter told me that I should look into it, because he thought it wasnt legal. Any one have any knowledge of this topic?

that's just stupid.

you either interviewed with someone who is a lunatic, or...you are making this up.

yes it's illegal. you can't discriminate against anyone for any reason. welcome to the 21st century.

they couldn't use that as a reason not to hire you. if that was the reason, you have a discrimination case. that is, if this is even real, which i doubt it is.

are you sure that was the reasoning, and not something else?

i don't mean to call you out, but that's just stupid.

Im serious. The guy literally told me that he wouldnt hire me based on that. He wasnt a jerk about it. He just said that he didnt want to waste my time with finishing the interview because he doesnt hire military. I was pretty shocked but I wasnt sure that it was legal. Does anyone know what kind of legal options I should look into? This is in Washington State. Caesar08 I dont blame you for being skeptical but I swear that I am telling the whole truth. I mean, for what reason would I make that up? To see my own typing?

quote:

Originally posted by Caesar08:
that's just stupid.

you either interviewed with someone who is a lunatic, or...you are making this up.

yes it's illegal. you can't discriminate against anyone for any reason. welcome to the 21st century.

they couldn't use that as a reason not to hire you. if that was the reason, you have a discrimination case. that is, if this is even real, which i doubt it is.

are you sure that was the reasoning, and not something else?

i don't mean to call you out, but that's just stupid.

Serving in the armed forces is NOT a protected category of discrimination, in terms of seeking NEW employment.

There are many things where service members are protected from in terms of employment, but gaining new employment is not one of them. The things we're protected from generally have to do with being called away from the civilian world due to military service obligation, thus protecting our jobs and our rights to our jobs in the civilian world.

If an employer doesn't want to waste their time hiring a service member, knowing good and well beforehand that there's a risk they'll lose the employee for indefinite amounts of time and have to guarantee them their job back when they return, then that employer can most definitely decide not to hire them. There's no race, gender, color, creed, age, nationality, disability, etc discrimination there at all. Just plain business sense.

Thanks for the info nangasaur.

I agree with Nang, you should have kept that to yourself. Employers are looking for someone that is going to be there for awhile. If you were in thier shoes and you were about to spend time and money on training a new person,only to have them leave in 3 months, would you bother ?

quote:

Originally posted by Caesar08:
that's just stupid.

you either interviewed with someone who is a lunatic, or...you are making this up.

yes it's illegal. you can't discriminate against anyone for any reason. welcome to the 21st century.

they couldn't use that as a reason not to hire you. if that was the reason, you have a discrimination case. that is, if this is even real, which i doubt it is.

are you sure that was the reasoning, and not something else?

i don't mean to call you out, but that's just stupid.

The "Sea Lawyer" has spoken!!

I hate to butt in and feel like I'm correcting people...please do not take this out of context.

Yes, it is illegal. Quoting the USERRA poster:
RIGHT TO BE FREE FROM DISCRIMINATION AND RETALIATION
If you:
✩ are a past or present member of the uniformed service;
✩ have applied for membership in the uniformed service; or
✩ are obligated to serve in the uniformed service;
then an employer may not deny you:
✩ initial employment;
✩ reemployment;
✩ retention in employment;
✩ promotion; or
✩ any benefit of employment
because of this status.
In addition, an employer may not retaliate against anyone assisting in
the enforcement of USERRA rights, including testifying or making a
statement in connection with a proceeding under USERRA, even if that
person has no service connection.

http://www.dol.gov/vets/programs/userra/USERRA_Private.pdf

"Have applied for membership in the uniformed service" is the key phrase. Then again, if you challenge it, he could try and get out of it on a technicality if you have not actually "applied". I know it sounds gay, but go fill out an application, if the Marines have them (believe it or not, the Army does now, sort of).

quote:

I recently had an interview at Best Buy. In the first minute of the interview, he asked me what my life goals were. I responded by telling him that I intend to join the Marines. He promptly told me to leave, saying that he doesnt hire anyone considering the military. My recruiter told me that I should look into it, because he thought it wasnt legal. Any one have any knowledge of this topic?

The bold type is not covered under USERRA.

CPO Kalbach

quote:

Originally posted by PO1Kalbach:

quote:

I recently had an interview at Best Buy. In the first minute of the interview, he asked me what my life goals were. I responded by telling him that I intend to join the Marines. He promptly told me to leave, saying that he doesnt hire anyone considering the military. My recruiter told me that I should look into it, because he thought it wasnt legal. Any one have any knowledge of this topic?

The bold type is not covered under USERRA.

CPO Kalbach

With all due respect, Chief, yes it is. See Eleven_BangBang's post above, and the line:

✩ have applied for membership in the uniformed service;

To the OP: The real key to the whole issue is whether you can provide PROOF of what the person said, be it recorded or in writing. If you cannot prove it, then according to the law, it never happened. Thus this whole discussion is academic. Getting proof is the hardest part in these cases.

Matt
SPC, US Army
15U

quote:

Originally posted by Mad_Matt:

quote:

Originally posted by PO1Kalbach:

quote:

I recently had an interview at Best Buy. In the first minute of the interview, he asked me what my life goals were. I responded by telling him that I intend to join the Marines. He promptly told me to leave, saying that he doesnt hire anyone considering the military. My recruiter told me that I should look into it, because he thought it wasnt legal. Any one have any knowledge of this topic?

The bold type is not covered under USERRA.

CPO Kalbach

With all due respect, Chief, yes it is. See Eleven_BangBang's post above, and the line:

✩ have applied for membership in the uniformed service;

To the OP: The real key to the whole issue is whether you can provide PROOF of what the person said, be it recorded or in writing. If you cannot prove it, then according to the law, it never happened. Thus this whole discussion is academic. Getting proof is the hardest part in these cases.

Matt
SPC, US Army
15U

Matt
Keep in mind the the OP stated that he "intended" to join the Marines, NOT that he was already in DEP for the Marines.

Also keep in mind that if it was decided he had a case and filed a lawsuit...at that moment in time he is now involved in a civil lawsuit and hence can NOT join any service while a civil case is pending.

BoatsBM1

i would definitely look into it. but also i would get that guy's name. next i would call best buy headquarters found on their webpage. make sure you speak with someone in human resources. but make sure you have all your ducks in a row.

I wouldn't want to work there if the interviewer said that to me. I would just move on to something else. Grocery stores are always hiring.

quote:

Originally posted by 14153109:
I recently had an interview at Best Buy. In the first minute of the interview, he asked me what my life goals were. I responded by telling him that I intend to join the Marines. He promptly told me to leave, saying that he doesnt hire anyone considering the military. My recruiter told me that I should look into it, because he thought it wasnt legal. Any one have any knowledge of this topic?

1) Write a letter to the headquarters of Best Buy and explain it to them. Tell them you have friends and those friends have friends. Explain to them that you are going to be very busy in the feature coming into contact with a lot of new people and your going to share this story.

2) Maybe share is with the news folks and instead of reporting which actress / singer is getting a divorce they will do some real investigative journalism...

3) Or just settle that there are a**holes in the world and go on...

This is no different than being in an interview and asked where you will be in five years and saying "I certainly won't be in this crappy job."

You told your interviewer, in not so many words, the same thing.

Anyone has the right to refuse employment to someone who is already looking for another job.

If he had said that it was against his morals to hire someone who wants to be military you might, and that is a very small might, have something to argue.

I have to agree with tankkllr on this one. Why would anyone hire someone who is actively looking for another job? It just doesn't make sense. Relatively long term employment is important to all facets of business. What would you think if Best Buy required that all new hires sign an 8 year contract like the military does?

Yeah. I have a friend here at the Veterans Administration who went through sort of the same ordeal. He enlisted in the Army in 1970 at age 20 because no one would hire him. When there is an active draft, 20 year olds are the prime target. Some of the prospective employers even told him that outright. He doesn't regret his decision though, he stayed for 26 years and retired a Chief Warrant Officer.

If investigated, I'm sure Best Buy would just say they hired a better qualified person. Sort of like when they say "needs of the service" when there isn't any other reason. I wouldn't want to work at a place after I made waves to get hired anyway.

I was talking to my recruiter yesterday on my way home from MEPS and i told her i am looking to find a job until i leave for boot camp and the one thing she recommended was to NOT tell your employer that your planning in joining the military because you know how employers are, looking for long term people not someone who will end up leaving within a few months. She said it is a bad idea to mention joining the military.

One thing to note however, is that this guy didn't say "I don't hire people who are looking for other possible jobs"..

He said - "I don't hire anyone considering the military"


Not sure if it really matters. I agree with not telling an employer you are considering the military, because that is the equivalent of saying "I won't be working here, that's for sure!" ... However, the words used in this context..

But, even if the wording did make a difference, you can't prove it.

Seriously, if you want to join the Marines.. forget about it. If you get into anything huge about it, like a civil case, you can't go off to boot camp.

I'd just apply at somewhere else and let it go.

I think on this job protection deal you all have to understand there are Soldiers, Sailors, Airman, and Marines that screwed over their employers in the past with not handling Military leave responsibly (advance notice, transition, etc). I'd try to see the employer's point of view on this.

The intent of USERRA is not to turn you into a replica of James Hoffa where you can make threatening demands of a employer or future employer.....

It's to protect you from discrimination.

quote:

With all due respect, Chief, yes it is. See Eleven_BangBang's post above, and the line:

✩ have applied for membership in the uniformed service;

To the OP: The real key to the whole issue is whether you can provide PROOF of what the person said, be it recorded or in writing. If you cannot prove it, then according to the law, it never happened. Thus this whole discussion is academic. Getting proof is the hardest part in these cases.

I saw the post, I bolded what was not covered. "Intending" to join does not mean "applied for".

What the Hiring Manager said was Dead wrong, and it "could" be used, if the person could provide proof the manager said it.

I intend to be President one day. It's the he said/she said syndrome with this. CPO Kalbach

quote:

Originally posted by PO1Kalbach:

quote:

With all due respect, Chief, yes it is. See Eleven_BangBang's post above, and the line:

✩ have applied for membership in the uniformed service;

To the OP: The real key to the whole issue is whether you can provide PROOF of what the person said, be it recorded or in writing. If you cannot prove it, then according to the law, it never happened. Thus this whole discussion is academic. Getting proof is the hardest part in these cases.

I saw the post, I bolded what was not covered. "Intending" to join does not mean "applied for".

What the Hiring Manager said was Dead wrong, and it "could" be used, if the person could provide proof the manager said it.

I intend to be President one day. It's the he said/she said syndrome with this. CPO Kalbach

Absolutely.

He's looking for new employment. He's not a member of the Armed Forces, nor has he applied to any of the Armed Forces. He just said he had aspirations to join one some day.

This is not protected, and it would be silly to think it is.

And as the Chief said, proving an employer did in fact violate USERRA for this instance is a matter of he said, she said.

"Employment-At-Will" laws have given employers way too much freedom and really undermine any laws that protect people outside the basic 6 no-no's.

And I've never heard of or read about an employer getting struck down by The Man for refusing to hire a actual service member or someone who is obligated to military service. Face it: we aren't protected with new employment, no matter what USERRA says, unless we fall under the 6 no-no's. "At Will" laws make USERRA obsolete. And if you really want to think about it, military draft laws make USERRA obsolete, too. EVERY male 18 years and older are obligated to serve if called upon.

...hrrrm, would make an interesting Supreme Court debate